Standing Rock officer shooting details released

September 13, 2008

SIOUX FALLS (AP) - The Bureau of Indian Affairs has released the name of an officer who was shot while serving as part of a surge in law enforcement officers on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, which straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border. Pat Ragsdale, the BIA's director, said Sgt. Louis Troy Poitra, 27, was shot in the leg on Wednesday as he was responding to a domestic violence call in Little Eagle. Rifle fire hit Poitra's vehicle and wounded him, Ragsdale said Friday in a release. Poitra and the suspect, whom Ragsdale said also was injured by a gunshot, were taken to a Bismarck, N.D., hospital. Ragsdale said Poitra captured the assailant, confiscated a weapon and stayed on the scene until a National Park Service police officer and a Cherokee Nation marshal arrived. They also are part of the law enforcement surge, known as Operation Dakota Peacekeeper. Poitra, who has been with the BIA for six years, was a squad leader with the mission and was serving his second 30-day detail, Ragsdale said. He is a member of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and is a police officer training instructor from the Indian Police Academy in Artesia, N.M. The BIA and FBI are investigating. The BIA brought in extra officers in June to help curb a high crime rate on Standing Rock. Authorities have said the surge has helped. The effort is expected to continue at least until October. ''I am very proud of Sergeant Poitra and everyone associated with this mission. This reminds us all of the dedication, bravery and sacrifice of police officers that serve Indian country and our communities all over America,'' Ragsdale said.